Made of Glass
by xxSnowxxAngelxx
Summary: Itachi's mask of stoic indifference was perfect, not even his family saw through it...And yet a certain hyper-active blond orphan seemed to easily see and get under the mask. But is Itachi the only hiding behind a mask? ItaNaru with NaruSasu friendship.
1. The First Meeting

Made of Glass

Song fic.

Song used: Made of Glass

By: Trapt

The child, no older than five at the time, ran blindly through the streets of Konoha no Sato. His eyes were shut tightly as tears threatened to break free of the lids. Behind him ran three older, taller, and meaner boys shouting out rude names to his fleeing back. The boy didn't know why he was always so hated, it was just another fact of his life, along with him being an orphan.

He didn't pay any attention to where he was running, and he didn't notice the older boys had stopped chasing him a while back. He didn't know that he'd run all the way from the poorest district into the very fancy, upper-class district. He also didn't notice that his feet were taking him to the infamous Uchiha estates.

So, when he came to an abrupt stop against something warm and firm, the boy was surprised. His surroundings had changed drastically from what he was used to. Also, there was the matter of just _what_ he'd run into. Looking up, he saw it was a who, and not a what, that he'd run into.

Blue eyes as deep and clear as the sky widened in recognition and surprise when they met eyes of black onyx. He noticed all the little details of the older boys appearance, from the clothing which screamed of nobility, to the symbol of the Uchiha clan stitched into his clothes.

It was the oldest son of Lord Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi, who was around five of six years older than Naruto himself.

"I-I-I'm… I'm so-sorry, I-Itachi-san… I wasn't watching where I was going, or where I was. Please forgive me!" The blonde stuttered, bowing in respect and cringing as though afraid of some kind of beating.

He was cursing his luck that it was the acclaimed genius and heir to the Uchiha clan that he'd run into. Though he also couldn't help the thoughts of how pretty Itachi was from racing into his mind. Even he had heard of the Uchiha's, and Itachi as well. The older boy was supposedly a genius, at only ten or eleven, and was announced as the heir to Lord Fugaku's position in the council of nobles upon his coming of age.

He gave the older boy an apologetic grin and scratched the back of his head in a display of embarrassment, and took off. He didn't want to wait for the boy to get angry and hit him or something. So he missed what the other boy said.

He had been about to ask if the young blonde was alright, and to tell him to be more careful, but no words came out until after the boy had run off. He was left standing their looking at least a little ridiculous, though as an Uchiha he managed to still look cool.

Itachi had been quite stunned by the young boys appearance, and not the fact he looked like he needed to soak in the tub for a minimum of three hours to remove all the dirt and grime covering him, but because of those intense blue eyes. They were the most intense shade of blue he'd ever seen on anyone's face, and his hair, though very dirt-covered and messy, was a vivid shade of yellow-blonde.

It almost reminded him of a picture in the main house of their late king, who'd died five years ago. _That boy looked about five, and I believe mother mentioned the queen having given birth to a child… _Though the child had supposedly been stillborn and the queen died of grief at losing both her husband and son.

Itachi had continued walking, thoughts centered around the mysterious blonde and an older man the boy resembled. He wasn't called a genius for nothing, though right now there was little proof for his speculations, and the King's son had died, or so they were told.

Naruto, meanwhile, had made it back into a poorer, shopping district. It wasn't too far from his 'home', but no where near the place those bullies would think to look for him if they wanted to pick on him any more. He found a small park-like area, framed by trees and sheltered from view of the hateful villagers, and sat down under a tree. He leaned against it and closed his eyes, picturing instantly a pair of deep onyx on a face that he couldn't help but like thinking of.

He, being a five-year-old, and not having parents to ask, didn't know what to make of the fluttery feeling he got when thinking of the older boy. He sighed and tried remembering every thing he knew of the Uchiha, though it wasn't much, and it was all public knowledge.

Itachi had by now returned home and made his way to his rooms in the main house. No one was around, which didn't surprise him in the least. His mother had probably taken his outotou out shopping for school things, as he would be starting at Konoha gakuen soon, Father would be in another council of Nobles meeting, and the servants were around, but knew not to bother him.

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Wow, took me a while to get this one posted...I might update once a week, depending on my motivation level...which will be influenced by how bored I get after school. I'm working on the next chapter of my LinkxAllen fic too...should be up this weekend..i hope..sorry for making you all wait if you like the story.. Please tell me what you think of this Song Fic! I am also working on the LavixAllen halloween fic i started before last halloween.. "The Phoenix and the Rabbit" - you can tell who is which animal...can't you? Ja ne!


	2. A Chance Encounter

**A/N**

Thank you to all 54 subscribers/reviewers/etc! Sorry it's taken so long to finish this chapter…No internet at home to put this chapter up, and a lack of inspiration with writing it.

At the end of the chapter, I will explain some things that have been brought up in reviews.. there will also be some explanation within the chapter itself.

**~Five Years Later~**

Naruto raced through the streets, a yellow-orange-black blur, an ear-to-ear grin plastered to his face despite the hate-filled glares and words directed at his back. Today was the first day back, after the week-long break; The middle of it was the anniversary of the death of the last King and Queen, as well as the attack on the village at the hands of a demon that had been defeated by the King at the cost of his life.

Naruto was excited about going back to school, though he was currently going to be a few minutes late due to over-sleeping. He already knew what Iruka-sensei would be yelling at him about it, as it happened often; even when he was only a second or two late Iruka-sensei had to make a big deal about it. Naruto liked hanging out with Iruka-sensei, since the man treated him like he wasn't some kind of creature to be hated, and he even treated Naruto to ramen some days.

Iruka was like a dad, or a father figure, to him and the old man who had taken over for the King and Queen was like a grandfather to him. The throne itself had been left vacant for a long time, his whole life, and the reason was that the royal family had been, supposedly, killed off the day he was born. Their village had been attacked by a powerful demon, one of nine Greater Demon's, the Kyuubi. The Ninth Greater Demon, and the most powerful.

The Queen had died later that night, after the demon had been defeated by the King, in childbirth with her still-born son. This is what they were taught in class, anyways, but Naruto knew better. Sarutobi-jiichan told him that the prince was alive and well, kept secret from the kingdom until he was old enough to protect himself from possible political threats. There were some among the city council that weren't likely to leave the prince alone should they learn of his existence.

According to Sarutobi-jiichan, the King had sacrificed his life to seal the demon in a newborn child. Naruto knew that Sarutobi-jiichan had left some things out when he told him about the day of his birth, but he let it pass. He had a bit of an idea about what it was, why it was being kept from him, and he knew it had something to do with why he looked like the man that was in the picture in the old man's office, Minato Namikaze, the King that had died ten years ago.

Naruto wouldn't pry. The old man had his reason's for not telling Naruto, and he respected the old man enough to let him decide when would be a good time to tell Naruto. At least he knew why the village treated him like it did; he'd been the newborn that had been used as the vessel for the Kyuubi.

Iruka-sensei's voice called him from his thoughts. Naruto put the grin that had slipped from his face back on, waving to his teacher before giving the man his usual excuse. He then took his seat at the back of the classroom, grinning back at the people that had laughed and whispered not-so-quiet insults about his repeated lateness. He tuned them out and stared off into la-la land as the lesson resumed. Iruka announced that they had a student that would be transferring in, which brought the entire class, minus Naruto, to focus at the front once more.

**"Please come in and introduce yourself Sasuke-kun."** His words had all the girls sitting up straighter and there was an audible pause as the class held its breath as the door opened to reveal the silent Sasuke Uchiha in all his regal glory. The girls started fan-girling with screams of _"It's Sasuke-sama"_, and _"Sasuke-sama look here!"_ The center of attention, however, seemed uninterested in the reactions.

**"I don't think I really need to say anything, Sensei. Seems like everyone already knows who I am…"** Sasuke spoke in a detached monotone before he moved to the only empty seat, ignoring all offers from the female fangirl's to sit next to them, next to the oblivious blond. Naruto was vaguely aware of the noise in the classroom, but he didn't pay it any attention. So, when Sasuke's voice broke through the pleasant little bubble he had erected around himself, he was surprised, to say the least.

**"Oi, dobe, move your bag."** Naruto turned to the voice and was about to tell the person to shove off and go elsewhere, when he noticed the appearance of the boy. It was so like the boy he'd met five years ago, though there were obvious differences, like hair length, and Sasuke was lacking the lines on his face that Itachi had, even at ten years old. Itachi also carried himself with a different kind of arrogance, Sasuke's was based only on the status of his family and not on personal skill level.

Naruto glared at the Uchiha's youngest heir for a long time, and Sasuke looked about to say something else when Naruto finally shrugged and moved his bag to the other empty desk on his other side. Sasuke smirked and sat in his new seat. Naruto then proceeded to ignore the boy beside him.

Class started again after the little interruption and Naruto's focus went out the window again, literally, as he was staring at the clouds in the sky. He occasionally stole a glance or two at the younger Uchiha that sat beside him. Sasuke was pale, with very noticeable Uchiha features, the black hair and eyes which turned red when their Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan, was in use.

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**A/N Part 2:**

**So this is kind of similar to the original series.. Minus the Uchiha massacre, and a few other noticeable changes. Konoha academy, or Konoha Gakuen, starts at age five(like regular school), ends at fourteen, though use can 'graduate' early. Itachi had graduated at the age of ten, and set the record for shortest time in the academy.**

**Yes, they are shin obi.. Only the ranks are a little different. Gennin are like medieval squires, Chunnin are the Knights of lower rank, and Jounnin are like the commanders, with a ten-twenty man squad made up of Chunnin and Gennin. Instead of a Hokage, they have a King and Queen.. though currently the throne is vacant.**

**Naruto will be smart in this story.. Since I find the stupid energetic Naruto to be annoying. He will still be energetic and a sort-of class-clown, but not a stupid class-clown. He still is treated like crud by the village excluding the Hokage [he's the regent. Hokage will be a position held by those not blood-relatives of the King's family.. or something like that…**

**So yeah… I just had the rough idea for a story like this after listening to the song it's titled after.. I really don't have much in the way for a plot for this. If you have any idea's, I'd love to hear them. Also any side pairings you want to see?**

**Next chapter will add a bit more of an explanation/background to the story.. I hope.. And Sasuke will maybe befriend Naruto. Sorry again for the wait. I hate not having internet at home.. T^T**


	3. Am I Obsessed?

**A/N-thingy part 1** - OMG I'm alive! Zoey already knows this, but for those who don't, I am. I haven't updated this since near the end of Easter holiday/spring break, and I'm sorry about that.

To those who know of my Link/Allen fic and wonder when it will be updated, I don't know. I honestly can't figure out which song to use for the next chapter, or what rating the chapter should be. Any requests for it?

To anyone who goes to gaia online and RP's at a fairly literate level and are looking for someone to RP with, send a pm to me at: Astarael Storm

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The teen sat at the breakfast table alone, as everyone else would still be in be at this ungodly hour. The thing that caused him to be up? A dream of a memory from five years ago. Eyes of a rare shade of blue, a blue their late king and Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had possessed.

Itachi sighed and stood up to finish preparing some tea for himself when the kettle boiled. He had tried researching to find any clue as to the boy's identity and heritage, but had found suspiciously little information on him. It seemed to be a great secret, the boy's past, that he, a Chunnin at the time, wasn't in a high enough position to know. It was unlikely even a Jounin would be able to access the information normally.

He had found the boys name was Naruto Uzumaki, and that his mother and father had died in the Kyuubi attack the day he was born; their names were not revealed on the birth records. To even learn this much had required the help of his friend, Shisui, who was able to get the information with less-than-model-citizen methods. It was a risk that he'd chosen to take, getting Shisui to look for information on the boy, and his friend knew enough to not ask questions about his interest in the blond orphan.

A soft noise reached his ears and drew Itachi from his thoughts. He tensed and reached for a kunai, though as he was within the Uchiha compound it was unlikely that it was an enemy, but old habits were hard to shake no matter where you are. Especially as a ninja. Sasuke's [sleep-filled] face appeared in the doorway and Itachi relaxed slightly.

Silently, Itachi prepared another cup and offered it to Sasuke while the younger Uchiha took a seat at the table, across from where his brother's cup was now resting. Sasuke accepted the cup when Itachi offered it with a small smile and grunt of thanks. Silence stretched between the brothers, somewhere in-between comfortable and awkward. Looking out the window, Itachi noticed that the sun was starting to rise.

"**You're Up early Otouto" "You're up early Aniki" **They spoke up at the same time. The siblings pause a second and share a slight chuckle. Itachi spoke first this time, **"More like up late, and you Otouto?" **Sasuke groaned in reply, then elaborated,

"**First official mission with Team 7 today, our sensei told us to get to the appointed meeting place about a half hour from now." **Sasuke groaned again, dreading having to do a mission with two of the most annoying team-mates he could have possibly ended up with. There was a pink-haired fan-girl who was obsessed with him, she was quite likely crazy in Sasuke's opinion, and a hyper-active blond idiot that had somehow managed to beat him for the highest score of the graduation exams.

The three of them were the only ones to finish early out of everyone in their year, though the Nara boy could have very easily gotten a score as high as Sakura's or even close to his score, if her weren't so lazy. He'd said that 'It's too troublesome' to get a passing mark right then. He would have to try again when the rest of the class took it.

"**Shouldn't you get going then, Otouto?" **Itachi finally spoke up, breaking through Sasuke's thoughts like a knife through warm butter. Sasuke cursed softly when he noticed the amusement in his brother's voice, before waving a farewell and leaving the house to hurry as calmly as you'd expect of an Uchiha. His destination, of course, was the training grounds Kakashi-sensei had told them to go meet up at. He had enough time that he could walk through the streets of Konoha, though the whispers that followed him were annoying.

"_Another Uchiha passed through the Academy"_

"_Look at that, another Uchiha became a shin obi."_

"_As expected of Itachi's younger brother to pass the Academy ahead of everyone else," _and other such phrases reached his ears. Sasuke smirked slightly, only a little put-off from being compared to Itachi. He was used to it by now. A hushed whisper stopped him completely though.

"_Did you hear about that demon brat, Uzumaki Naruto? He passed as well." _A woman hissed to her friend.

"_Shhh. You're not supposed to talk about it, Sandaime-sama's orders. You know that." _Her friend replied in the same hissing whisper. _"Yondaime-sama requested that it not be talked about."_

Sasuke frowned and took the roof-top path rather than listen to more civilian chatter. The conversation he'd overheard was interesting, he would need to ask the blonde idiot about it.. _'Or Kakashi-sensei since that dobe won't know anything about it probably.'_

Itachi, meanwhile, was still sitting at the breakfast table, thinking about the 'idiot blond' his Otouto had been 'sort of' ranting about, since Uchiha's **don't** rant, unintentionally of course. Could the 'idiot blond' be the same blond he had met five years ago? It was highly likely, as there was only one other blond in that class, if he remembered right, and Sasuke had mentioned 'him' and 'he', so the Yamanaka girl was obviously not who Sasuke was talking about. He would ask Sasuke for the boy's name next time he saw him.

Dragging his thoughts from the blond they seemed to focus on frequently, Itachi stood and washed the cups he and Sasuke had used. He had to report to Sandaime-sama for a mission of his own with his team. At that moment, his mother entered the room and smiled at him in the way that he knew she was going to suggest he try finding a nice girl soon…again. For a few weeks now she had been mentioning his availability and being of age soon. He politely declined all her match-making efforts thus far, but knew that unless he found someone by himself, she would keep after him about it.

He greeted her, and told her that he had to go meet the Sandaime, and that he would speak with her when he was finished with his mission. She looked slightly put-out, but nodded and wished him well on his mission.

He nodded and left the house, moments before his father entered after his mother. He immediately took to the roof and headed for the office of the Hokage. The old man had been chosen as the Kings successor, but was not a King himself. It had caused a stir among the gossip-fanatic's of his family and the servants they had.

He knew the old man Sandaime knew Naruto, and was probably close to the boy. He could ask the man for details about Naruto when he had the time, maybe. It was a subject that was usually avoided in conversation. That was also something that was bugging him. The secrecy about the child. Adults who were more than ten years older than Naruto knew about it, it seemed (as they constantly whispered it whenever the boy was close, Itachi knew this because he happened to have overheard a little of it a while ago).

He was becoming obsessed with the blond, and he didn't know why. For now he would act uninterested, since it would be considered as odd for him to show interest in it suddenly. He arrived at the Hokage's office and met up with his team. The mission was a simple one that required leaving the village over-night. It was a good chance to get his mind off the blond.

If anyone thought Itachi was distracted, they knew better than to mention it… except for Shisui that is. He was in Itachi's team and was unusual for an Uchiha. He was a cheerful person and enjoyed teasing Itachi for being as cold as a stone. When asked why not ice for Itachi, he'd laughed and replied that Fugaku Uchiha was cold as ice, Itachi wasn't quite that bad yet.

"**Yo, 'Tachi-chaan~ You seem distracted with something… A cutie perhaps?"** He wrapped an arm around Itachi's shoulder and the other merely gave him a deadpan stare. The others in the group stayed back and refused to get in the way of a possible Uchiha fight. Itachi glared when the other refused to let go of him, or of the conclusion he'd come to about Itachi seeming distracted.

He started chanting a foolish little song about Itachi falling in love, and received a strong fist to the side of his head for it. Itachi was visibly irritated, hence the punch he'd given Shisui. Suffice to say, everyone in the room knew not to ask about it, Shisui excluded though he was currently out for the count. They finally got back on track and were soon dispatched to carry out their mission, Itachi carrying the goof-ball of the Uchiha clan, Shisui, on his back until the other woke up from the punch.

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**A/N -thingy part 2**

**So I FINALLY finished this chapter… and it's kinda of progressing, I think… Well this [chapter] is showing Itachi's kind-off near obsession with Naruto and finding out Naruto's history/heritage/etc. I think the name suit's the chapter, and if you are wondering, I listened to 'My Obsession' by Skillet I believe when I started writing it.**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and=or subscribed/favorited this story of mine. Around 75 people have favorited/subscribed, and 13? Reviews.. I think? I had planned on replying to all reviews I got, but have so far only replied to one of the recent ones.**

**This chapter is longer than the others, I believe, and next chapter will probably be even longer. I still don't know how this will go, but I have a rough idea of what chapter 4 shall look like. Any idea's for side pairings are welcome. Who do you want to see Sasuke end up with? Sakura(who u want her to end up with, not suggesting SasuSaku)? ETC.**


	4. Mission: Land of Waves part 1

Authors Note:

So… Don't hurt me! I'm so terribly sorry to have taken THIS long to do anything with this story. Life's been a pain, writers block, moved up north and got a job which takes most of my time these days… I also had no idea what all the details of the next part were in the series, so I had to go rewatch it all. Then, I swear I had done some work on this before, in my fanfiction book, thing… but I couldn't find any trace of the third chapter having even been started. I may have had it started on my old laptop, which is well and truly dead now.

Thanks again to all reviewers, both those who read this when I started it, and those that have been subscribing more recently. Without further ado, on with the next chapter! Finally we are in the Land of Waves mission! (I actually had to read my story to remember the details about it)

[insert comic-relief page break]

The sound of an alarm rang out through the small, rundown apartment before a tanned hand fumbled around for a second and managed to locate the clock to silence it. Luckily it completely missed the sharpened kunai kept close by for security purposes. A blond head rose from under the pillow it had somehow found itself under and bleary blue eyes stared unfocused at the numbers upon the surface of the little device for a good minute before recognition flittered across the youth's face. The gaze sharpened and a curse filled the apartment bedroom as the blond jumped out of bed and began a hurried morning routine. He cut most morning rituals short as he was going to be very late if he took his time with it like he did normally. The reason he had slept in in the first place was from excitement of being a genin and having a mission that would be taking him outside of the village for the first time in his entire life!

That excitement made it hard to fall asleep, and that in turn made him sleep later than he usually did when he did managed to nod off to dreamland. Finished in record time, Naruto was dressed and out the door and soon was dashing along the street, grinning from ear to ear and ignoring the glares and anger he felt from the civilians he passed. He had readied his bag the night before, when he had found it hard to lay still long enough to fall asleep, and it was a good thing he had, or he'd be even later than he already was. The team were to meet with their jounin sensei at the training ground their group were named after 'Training Ground Seven' where they would do a short exercise before heading to the Hokage's office to receive the details of their mission.

Now, normally they would receive missions which were more like chores that no one wanted to do themselves so they were passed off as missions to get genin used to working together with their team-mates. Such as retrieving the demon ca- I mean the sweet angelic cat belonging to one of the most important women in the land… who always ended up running away from its owner and giving the genin sent after it hell. And it had been around for far too long for any normal animal. However, their team was above the skillset of most new genin teams. In fact they were closer to chunin level than genin level, in both personal skill and teamwork. Sakura was a little lacking in skill, but made up for it in chakra control and basic medical skill. A medical apprenticeship was likely in her future.

"Now, your sensei has informed me that you three are too skilled to really need D-Rank missions. I will trust his judgement in this matter and will be handing your team a C-Rank mission which will take you out of the village." The aged Sandaime spoke slowly, reluctance in giving them the mission clear in his tone. He had spoken to Kakashi before the genin team showed up, informing him of the need to protect Naruto in the event of anything happening. "There is an escort mission to Wave Country that I believe will be perfect for your first mission out of the village."

The old man handed the mission debrief over to the Jounin sensei who quickly read it and memorized the information. Kakashi looked at the man and nodded.

"We'll take it, Sandaime-sama." At his words the door to the room opened to reveal an old man that was drinking out of a gourd and looked to be drunk already.

"This is the client, Tazuna-san of Nami no Kuni. You are to escort him home and guard him. It should not be too difficult for you three and Kakashi-kun." The old man sort of squinted in their direction before protesting the group chosen to guard him.

"Are these kids really ninja? They can't be older than ten or eleven years old! The short blond one looks wimpy too. I want more adult ninja!" The old drunkard didn't notice the blond boys killing intent at the insult that he looked like a wimp. He was best in his class dattebayo! He even had better scores than Sasuke-teme and Sakura-banshee too! Sasuke smirked at the insult towards Naruto, though didn't like being compared to the dobe. Sakura was too focused on Sasuke-kun to notice or care about anything else.

"Rest assured Tazuna-san. These three graduated early with exceptional marks, Naruto having near-record breaking scores. Also, Kakashi will be there as well and he is a Jounin. I think you will find this team to be more than adequate for the job." The old man assured him, causing eyebrows to raise among all present save for Kakashi and Sasuke who showed his surprise through a scowl rather than raised eyebrows.

"Really Jiji? I had really high scores?" Said blond was the first to recover slightly and spoke out first. Tazuna merely scoffed but said no more in protest. It would look suspicious if he kept pressing for more able guards. He had only requested a C-Rank after all.

The group of five left the hokage building shortly after that and made their way to the gate which would lead them out of the village and onto Wave Country. Naruto was excited to be going outside of the village for the first time ever. His excitement was clear as the sky as he was practically vibrating from restraining himself from going all over the path once they had left the village walls. They had only been walking for about a half hour before they passed something odd. In the middle of the road was what looked to be a puddle. Now, the odd thing about that was that it hadn't rained in days and it was currently sunny out.

Sakura and Tazuna didn't even look twice at the puddle as the group walked past. Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto however did. The three noticed right away how strange it was for there to be a puddle on a day like this one. None of them made any outward sign that they were aware however, and soon the group had gone past the puddle and continued along, three of the five ready to spring into action. It was after five steps past the puddle that two ninja sprang up from the puddle and wrapped a bladed chain around Kakashi, ripping him to shreds easily. Naruto and Sasuke got into ready stances while Sakura screeched and looked ready to faint in fright.

"One down." One of the two spoke, arrogantly thinking they were done with the most challenging opponent and that the three kids would be easily defeated. One ran at Naruto, the other at Tazuna. Sasuke quickly ran in front of Tazuna, kunai ready to fend off the ninja. Naruto also had a kunai out, managing to stop the attacker from gutting him. It was over in a flash. Naruto and Sasuke had both managed to defeat the enemy ninja with only a small scrape on Naruto's hand. Kakashi showed up and restrained the two enemies with a 'good work you two' to Naruto and Sasuke and a disapproving shake of the head at Sakura's uselessness.

He had been just about to step in when two of his students surprised him by beating the two chunin level shinobi on their own. He had only allowed them to think they killed him to see who they were targeting. Obviously Tazuna had hidden the truth when submitting his mission request. This was beyond C-Rank. It was easily a high B-rank or even low A-Rank mission now. Kakashi sighed slightly and told Naruto that he should remove the poison in his hand as it would spread quickly. Naruto actually stabbed his hand with a kunai when they were discussing dropping the mission and returning to the village.

"We'll finish this mission! I don't want to fail my first mission just because it was more difficult than expected. What if we run into a mission later on that gets more complicated than the mission parameters would suggest? There are times when dropping a mission is impossible, so doing so here isn't an option sensei. We accepted this mission and Jiji won't give us another mission like this for a while if we go home now. I'll protect the bridge builder with my own two hands. I swear it on this pain in my hand." Surprisingly his voice was completely serious as he said this and there was a noticeable lack of his 'dattebayo'.

"Uhm… Cool as that sounds… If you lose any more blood it will be dangerous. Seriously." Kakashi interjected with a sweatdrop. Naruto in that moment had sounded so like the late king it almost hurt Kakashi to think of it. Naruto lost all seriousness as he began freaking out. He showed Kakashi his hand and the jounin's eye widened before narrowing in thought as he witnessed the wound heal before his very eyes. 'Is it the Kyuubi? Or his mother's family's strong healing factor?' The man wondered, a serious expression on his face, serving to only worry Naruto.

"Sensei…. Am I going to be okay? Your face looks scary…." Naruto was almost meek as he asked this. Kakashi looked up and eye-smiled.

"Yup. You'll be fine. But next time don't do something so rash, 'kay?" The man said in his cheerful voice. Then he turned serious again as he stood and turned to Tazuna. "Now, I think you need to explain yourself. The mission stated that we would only need to guard you from bandits and thieves. There was nothing about enemy rogue ninja being the ones to target you. As stated earlier, this is a higher rank mission than the C is was listed as. We won't abandon you to fend for yourself, since we accepted the mission to guard you, but we need to know what we are up against." His tone showed nothing of the anger at the man's deception or the fact that Naruto could have died if he hadn't have been so skilled already.

Tazuna gulped and began his story about how Wave was a small, poor country that couldn't afford more than a C-Rank mission, even that was stretching their funds thin. Gato had taken over the country and was opposed to the bridge that would take his power over the people of Wave away. Gato had hired thugs and ninja to threaten the people that were working on the bridge and how the bridge was necessary to save them. He even begged for their help. Well, they already agreed didn't they? The group made it to the shore where a boat that would bring them to Wave was waiting.

A/N Okay, I'll end this chapter here…. I know, not a super long chapter, but this is about as far as I got in the anime and I will write the next chapter soon, promise. ((By that I meant that I am re-watching the series at that part, and it was in the first episode of the wave mission, episode 7. ))

total words: 1,820


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